The End of the Runes
by Glenn393
Summary: Hikusaak is collecting all the True Runes, but Hugo and the other Stars of Heaven from previous Suikodens are brought together by fate to try to kill Hikusaak, so that the world will never come to nothingness. VERY GOOD STORY PLEASE RR. Very very good plt


Hugo scanned the Karaya plains lazily, sitting on the soft blanket of grass, enjoying the sun's pleasant warmth on the back of his neck. In his strong fingers he twirled a small dandelion, not paying attention to anything in particular. His eyes glazed over the soft rolling hills of the Karaya plains. It was spring time, and the flowers seemed to pop out of the ground, eager to drink up the rays of the glorious sun. Landmarks in the plains were few and far between. The plains were miles long, full of budding wildlife and beauty. It was both lonely and relaxing. Hugo did much of his thinking out in the plains, away from civilzation and people. Members of the Karaya Clan assumed that he had become a loner, and that had lost part of his soul to the True Fire Rune, when in fact it was quite the opposite. The elemental rune made nature speak to him. Hugo could hear the rolling hills, flowers, and sun as if they were whispering in some deep, hidden, parcel of his mind. It didn't speak in words, or even in feeling, it was just some feeling that Hugo could identify with deep in his soul.

From behind him, Hugo could feel the wings of his faithful companion beating down toward to the ground, slowing the beautiful creature. Hugo turned his head and cheerfully looked at his lifelong friend Fubar. Hugo stood up slowly from the grassy hillside and gracefully walked toward Fubar. He patted Fubar's head and ruffled the feathers on the top of his head so that they stood upright. Hugo chuckled to himself as Fubar shook his head to fix the feathers letting out a discreet squwak of delight. Hugo delicately hopped onto Fubar's back. With great strength, Fubar pushed up off the ground, flapped his wings, and flew up toward the sun.

Hugo and Fubar were far up off the ground in no time. At this height Hugo could look across the Grasslands. He saw Brass Castle off in the distance, the Lizard Clan's caves not too far off, the remants of the Karayan village behind him, and out near the horizon he picked out Thomas' castle. In no time, Fubar neared Thomas' castle and swooped down toward the ground to let Hugo off. Hugo landed softly on the stone walkway of Budehuc Castle.

The castle grounds were flooded with people and merchants. They were like ants scrambling around the ant hill. Hugo felt the presence of two True Runes nearby. He followed their calling, and eventually found himself climbing the winding staircase in Budehuc castle up toward Thomas' room. He opened the door, and felt the connection of other True Runes. He saw Thomas seated behind his oak desk, Chris Lightfellow seated in a chair next to the desk, and somebody else was sitting with his back toward Hugo. The stranger turned around at the sound of the door and smiled politely at Hugo. It was Bishop Sasarai from Harmonia.

"Greetings Hugo, it's been a long time hasn't it?" Sasarai asked.

Hugo nodded and smiled back. "Nearly three years."

"My how time flies," Sasarai replied.

"Hi Hugo!" Thomas exclaimed with a smile that stretched ear to ear. "You're just in time, Sasarai was about to tell us why he has decided to pay us a visit."

Hugo glanced over at Chris who sat with her hands folded in her lap, looking at him with her big blue eyes. He smirked shyly at her and took a seat on the other side of Thomas' desk.

"Where's Geddoe?" Hugo asked Thomas.

"Not sure yet, we sent a search party to go look for him, but it seems he has wondered off somewhere. We're going to begin without him. This sounds important."

Sasarai shifted uncomfortably in his seat and opened his mouth to speak. "There has been talk among the nobles of Harmonia that Hikusaak has found out about Luc's death. They've said that he's very angry at the loss of the True Wind Rune, and he would like somebody to go find it for him. Now, I figured this was a matter that the Grasslands should settle, so I left to come here and ask for your assistance searching for the Rune."

Chris stared intently at Sasarai and asked, "How do we know the Rune isn't destroyed?"

"If the rune was destroyed, we would have definitely felt an imbalance in the world, and there would have been an explosion of some sort. So far there has been none, so there is reason to believe that it is intact somewhere," Sasarai replied. "I'd like to assemble a search team of our best warriors to find the True Wind Rune."

"Why would we give a True Rune to Harmonia?" Hugo asked crossly.

"Well, we wouldn't. I've decided that I'm going to stay here at the castle. Nobody knows of my leave or true intentions, but I fully plan on keeping the True Wind Rune when we find it. I do not agree with Hikusaak's plan to obtain all the runes. Do you three have anybody in mind to join our search party?"

"I'm sure we can arrange something," Hugo said thoughtfully.

The meeting had ended about half and hour ago. Hugo stood out on a balcony at the top of Budehuc castle, thinking about which companions he should bring to search for the True Rune. He leaned against the railing staring out into the distance. Hugo was much bigger now than when the Second Fire Bringer War happened. He had matured and gone through puberty. He was now over six feet tall, well chisled, wiser, and his hair now came down longer around his face and the back went below his neck where he tied it into a pony tail.

He had to create a team that could work efficiently and stand up to any danger along the way. He knew that Geddoe, Chris, Sasarai, and he would already be going, but he needed at least three to five more people to form a decent party. Edge immediately popped up in his mind. Edge was in posession of another True Rune, and was a very powerful fighter. He'd have to find messengers to the south to search for him. Louis could also come along. He had been training under Chris the past three years, taken strategic courses with Salome, and went through backbreaking workouts with Hallec and Leo. Louis had turned out to be an excellent warrior with a good heart, more-so than most people realized. Melville was a natural treasure hunter, he would have no problem finding things. Melville too had grown up to be strong. He was very independent and spent his time fighting creatures and going on daunting adventures. He felt that he had to out-do his father in nearly everything. He was a reckless young man, just a year or two younger than Hugo, but his luck seemed never ending, and was successful at nearly everything he did. Hugo also felt the need to track down Nash Latkje. Nash was a vital asset to any party, deftly getting through any problems or obstacles. Hugo had no idea where to begin looking for him though, so he tossed out the idea just as it flashed into his mind. That was it, Hugo had his mind made up. Edge, Louis, and Melville would accompany the True Rune bearers.

Hugo walked downstairs and assembled his search party to go south to find Edge. All the other members he chose were alreayd at the castle, ready for combat at any moment. He saw Chris walking up to him. He looked away, and slowly started to walk toward the castle.

"Wait Hugo," she said. "Geddoe isn't back yet. We assembled the 12th unit to tell them about their leader's absence, and we found that Joker was also missing."

Hugo looked down at his feet. "I don't know then, do we go without him?"

"Come on Hugo, look me in the face like a man. You like to pretend you're not the leader, but ever since you united all these clans you've been a God to them. Make a decision and be the leader," Chris scolded.

"Don't you talk to me like that," Hugo said flushed with anger. He felt the True Fire Rune burning up inside of him.

Chris grabbed his hand, and although he wanted to pull away as if her touch burned his skin, her True Water Rune always cooled him down. She looked him in the face staring deep into his eyes.

He looked away and yanked his hand out of hers. "We move on without them." He started to walk away toward Budehuc castle.

Four days had passed when the search party for Edge finally returned. Edge walked into the village, much burlier and Viktor-like than when he left, clearly taking on the form of the sword's previous owner. He still had the same piercing eyes and stone face as ever though. Excited to see his old friend, Hugo strided over to Edge quickly. They exchanged handshakes and looked at each other sternly, still measuring who was the tougher warrior.

"Vanquish the foes you needed?" Hugo asked.

"Barely," a voice said from behind Edge.

Edge glanced over his shoulder at the sword on his back, "This kid is lucky I'm still sharp as ever," the sword spoke again.

"Please," Edge said in a deep voice, you're lucky I don't just throw you in the ocean and let you flow along to the Island Nations and Feitas River."

"Bring it on," the Star Dragon sword joked.

"Still haven't found a muzzle for it?" Hugo said jokingly.

"Hey, I'll muzzle you, you overgrown baby!" The Star Dragon Sword retorted.

"I don't mind it, the company keeps me from going insane," Edge replied.

"Really? If I had thing around me all the time I already would have gone insane," Hugo chuckled.

"So what's this exploration we're going to go on?" Edge inquired.

"To find the True Wind Rune," a voice said from behind Hugo.

Sasarai walked up to the two of them with Chris, Melville, and Louis,

"Interesting," The Sword said.

"Indeed. We'll need your help no doubt," Sasarai added.

"I feel intruiged. We can do this Edge, don't worry," The Sword spoke.

"Then we're leaving, now we've already waited too long. We'll go to the last place we saw the Rune. The Sindar Ruins."

After much traveling and battling, the group eventually made their way into the Sindar Ruins.

"I have a feeling that the Sindar Ruins we've seen so far, are not the full extent of the ruins," Edge spoke up.

"Oh really? And why's that?" Hugo asked.

"When I was down south, I met a man named Killey. He was telling me of all the ruins he's seen down in Falena and across the mainland, and how each ruin has deep secrets about it, and how there's always something hidden. I feel like we haven't unlocked this ruin completely."

The group continued on, quickly fighting off any beastly encounters. The group was well trained and stronger than ever, and most beasts stood no chance against their steel. As they continued on through the ruins, they eventually came to the hall where the cavern collapsed around Luc and Sarah. They made their way to the center and started to move away all the rocks.

"I doubt the Rune will still be in his body, it must go somewhere else when the person as died," Sasarai said as he heaved up another rock.

Eventually all the rocks had been movd, and the only things there were Luc's old mask and Sarah's old scepter. Hugo picked both of these items up.

"Wow, I wonder what happened to the bodies," he commented.

"Anything. The Runes hold powers which we have no idea," Louis piped up. He had been quiet the whole time. "Salome was telling me about the history of all the known Runes. It seems as though they're uncontrollable, and can take over people at any moment. He said the best known runes to do this was the Beast Rune and the Sun Rune."

Hugo was curious about his old enemy, looking down at the cracked mask. He held the mask over his face, and then gently clasped it over it. He peered out through the eye holes at his comrades, and saw something he had never seen before: The literal souls of the Runes. He saw it deep in the Zodiac Sword, in Chris, and in Sasarai. He held the scepter in the air and felt his own Fire Rune emitting a strange power from it.

"What are you doing Hugo? That's dangerous!" Louis warned.

And in an instant Hugo was plunged into darkness.

He came to the same emtpy world that Luc had shown him years earlier.

"I'm glad you came to see me," A voice echoed.

"Luc?" Hugo said in amazement.

"The future of the world has not changed. It will still become an empty, soulless place eventually. I do not care anymore though, I am now at peace."

"How can you talk to me? Where am I?"

"This is a vision that Master Leknaat has helped me create."

And out of the lifeless ground, a woman cloaked in white with dark black hair rose. She had a mysterious, yet dangerous air about her.

"Leknaat?" Hugo said in bewilderment.

"Hugo, your destiny is not one unique. With this Rune comes great responsibility. There is a new task that has arisen for all the True Rune Bearers."

Hugo stood there tensely, listening intently.

"Luc was not wrong in seeing this future, but he was wrong in his method. There truly is no way to destroy a True Rune. It is as impossible as making all the water in the world disappear. It cannot happen, it is one with the universe. But in order to save the world from this future, you must stop the one who seeks to create it."

Hugo nodded.

"I am telling you to go to Harmonia, seek out Hikusaak, and kill him."

Leknaat vanished and Hugo awoke on the floor of the collapsed cavern of the Sindar Ruins with the mask off of his face.

"What happened, are you okay Hugo?" Chris asked, kneeling by his side.

He sat up and felt his face wet. He wiped his cheeks and felt his eyes, he had been crying.

"What happened?" Chris asked again.

"We must find the True Wind Rune." Hugo said sternly. He stood up and faced the group.

He took Sarah's scepter off the ground, and as if he had been instructed to, he smashed it down onto the rocky ground. Immediately a fierce wind blew in the cavern, and at the spot where the scepter broke, a stairwell opened up.

"What in the world?" Edge said under his breath.

As if possessed, Hugo descended the staircase. Sasarai, Louis, Chris, Melville, and Edge quickly followed him.

Down below the cavern was another underground cavern. In the middle was a lit lantern, and a figure stood next to it draped in white cloth.

"Eresh has waited for a new bearer," The figure said.

It was a short stubby figure with a large staff draped in white linens.

"Who are you?" Hugo demanded.

"Not who Eresh is. What Eresh is. Eresh finally found purpose. Eresh vessel."

"Vessel for what?"

"No, Hugo she's right. She's just like me," Sasarai said walking up to the short figure.

He knelt down and spoke softly to her, "Where do you come from?"

"Eresh wander the world. Eresh go to Nameless lands. No good rune. Eresh go to deep south. Meet friends. No good rune. Eresh come west. Eresh almost killed. Eresh come north, Eresh hear voice, Eresh follow voice, Eresh find Rune."

"What rune?" Chris said, stepping into the lantern light.

The figure looked up mysteriously at Chris, "True Wind Rune of course."

Everybody's eyes went wide.

"Eresh, you have the True Wind Rune?" Hugo asked.

"Eresh vessel. New Armes know Eresh vessel. They chase Eresh out."

"Do you remember your past?" Sasarai asked.

"Eresh is circle"

"Circle?" Louis questioned. "Are you from Harmonia?"

"Eresh from Circle."

"I've never heard of that place before," Chris said.

"No," Sasarai blurted. "Hikusaak made her as he made Luc and I. She was meant to carry runes for him."

"Eresh from Circle."

"The Circle Rune is the rune that Hikusaak holds. He has the power to make clones like us," Sasarai continued. "I just don't know what to do about her. Do we bring her with us? How do we get the True Wind Rune from her?"

"Can we kill her?" Melville said devilshly.

Chris shot him a glance. He just chuckled.

Louis stepped closer and inspected her. "I've never seen anything like it before." He reached out to touch her head, and when he did, there was a shockwave sent throughout the room.

Eresh glowed a bright white. Louis felt like his hand could not move, his body was paralyzed. And in one moment, he felt a flood of new memories in his mind. He saw ancient battles of heros, he saw Tir, he saw Jowy, Luca Blight, Odessa, the Silverbergs, Leknaat, Sarah, a strange darkness, the Soul Eater. He saw blood, fighting, chaos. He saw Luc.

The light flashed bright once more and blinded them all, and when it faded, Eresh was gone, and Louis had a new marking on his hand. He had control of the True Wind Rune.

"We've done it!" Sasarai cheered.

"No, we're not done." Hugo spoke. "We need more Runes. Our mission is nowhere near complete."

"What are you talking about Hugo?" Chris asked

"We need more runes to go kill Hikusaak," he said with a fire in his eyes.

"Now wait just a second, what?" Sasarai said in disbelief. "Why?"

"Leknaat told me to. She said in order to prevent an empty future we must prevent the one who will create it. She commanded that we kill Hikusaak."

"Sounds fun. I'm down," Melville said smirking deviously.

"We do have all five runes now, and six including Edge's," Louis commented. "We'd need to collect an army again."

"We can use the Stars of Destiny once more," Hugo said.

Sasarai and Chris looked at each other nervously.

"It seems like a good idea. Harmonia is a corrupted place nowadays," Sasarai added. "I just don't know though. This seems so sudden. We should consult others."  
"We should consult nobody. We are the bearers of the runes. We need to be discreet, deadly, and determined. Who is there to speak to. Do you understand the power we have?" Hugo said strongly.

A dark figure stepped out from the darkness. Everybody turned in fear. It was a woman draped in black.

"Your destiny has been revealed. You must fulfill it. If you feel that you're not worthy, then I will make sure that you're dead, and not worthy of anything else," The figure said.

"Who are you!" Chris yelled unsheathing her sword.

"Don't get upset, I could incinerate you in one second," the figure jetted back. "My name is Zerase. I've been chosen to lead the Stars of Destiny. I have collected the souls and runes that have abandoned each other. I am the ultimate collector of warriors."

"Don't be so sure we trust you," Chris said proddlingly.

"Oh you won't have to trust me. You have no other option," Zerase threatened.

The group turned and went up the stairs out of the darkness and Zerase followed. When they go to the top, there was a figure standing there.

"So this is where it all happened," the figure spoke quietly.

"Who are all these strangers?" Melville muttered to himself. "This is ridiculous."

"Ah, the Fire Bringers," The armor-clad warrior said, turning to face them. He had a black helmet on and long flowing blonde hair.

"What are you doing here Pesmerga?" Zerase said coming to the front of the group.

"Looking for Yuber."

"For who?!" Hugo cried with a flash of anger in his eyes. He thought of the villain from the past.

"My rival. The shadow. Yuber," Pesmerga replied calmly. "I heard he had come through here creating chaos. It seems that he is one step ahead of me. I am looking to catch him and stop his brutal actions. His Eightfold Rune has gotten out of hand. I must use my Sevenfold Rune to stop him."

"Sevenfold Rune?" Sasarai questioned.

"Yes. Seven is the holy number. I descended from the heavens as Pesmerga ascended from Hell. Our runes battle each other throughout eternity. We don't know when we were born, or why we fight, but we do because it is our instinct."

"Please join our fight. We have to go murder Hiksaak, we need all the firepower we can get," Hugo asked.

"No," Zerase spoke. "Pesmerga does not join any side. If there is chaos, he shall be there. If we succeed in our mission, there is no doubt Pesmerga will be there, either as friend or foe."

Pesmerga nodded and waved, "I shall see you sometime soon. I must go find Yuber." And as he said it he dissapated into thin air.

"And now we must go. Fate is brimming with excitement," Zerase said with pride. She waved her hand, and with no explanation at all, the party disappeared as well.

They appeared in front of a massive wall.

"Where in the world?" Hugo said in disbelief.

"Harmonia," Sasarai said. "This is the gate to the inner city of Harmonia."

"What are we doing here?" Hugo asked. "How will we get in?"

"Fate," Zerase spoke.

From the other side of the wall, they heard cries and yells. Something big was going on. There were loud explosions, crackling noises, and terrified wails of people. And in about a minute, the fortress walls opened up, and three familiar faces ran out.

"Joker! Nash! Geddoe! What're you doing here?" Hugo exclaimed.

The three warriors ran up to them quickly.

"Hey Hugo," Geddoe greeted, "In my rune, I saw my friend, the old Fire Bringer, come to me in a dream. He told me of the fate that Leknaat was planning, and told me to gain entrance to Harmonia last week and I would eventually know my purpose. I trusted him, and he told me to bring Joker. So I brought Joker, and eventually he met up with Nash here in a bar, and they connected, and Nash told us of a conspiracy within Harmonia. There are three individual inside who are already fighting for rebellion, it just so happened that Nash knew them and had us join them."

"Howdy pretty lady," Nash winked at Chris.

Chris glared at him and moved closer to Hugo.

It should be known at this time, of the special history between Hugo and Chris. After the Second Fire Bringer War they became close friends. And before anybody knew it, intimate friends. Hugo had grown to be a strong leader, one with more will, adventure, and pride than even Chris had. She admired him, and after being able to give up some of her power to her friends, and she could relax, she found herself worrying more about Hugo than her own affairs. Hugo in turn, fell in love with her. His True Fire Rune resonated with happiness whenever the True Water Rune was near. He felt safe and secure with her, and the two were engaged to be married. Something went wrong though. This was two years ago. A year ago, Hugo started to get more violent. He was getting restless with his Rune and with the Fate that Luc had exposed him too. He despised the extinguishing effect the Water Rune had on him. He felt like the Water Rune had power over him, and he felt all the anger toward Chris that he had before they were allies. There was still a deep human love for her, but for heavenly reasons, the two broke off the marriage, and were as caught up in lovers quarrels as ever.

"We must get inside quickly," Zerase commanded. "The other Stars are waiting."

The part rushed inside Harmonia where chaos ensued. In the middle of the town were two individuals and Hugo immediately recognized him from Luc's mask. These were the legendary Riou and Jowy. They were having problems fighting off all the Harmonian mercenaries that had rushed to the square. In the blink of an eye though, there was a shockwave throughout the square as a third man ran into the chaos. Hugo recognized him to be Tir McDohl. The three legendary soldiers killed all the Harmonian soldiers in sight, and scampered away down a few alleys. Hugo and the rest of his party followed them.

They followed the three warriors into a small house, and knocked on the door when it had shut in front of them. Jowy opened the door slowly. He saw Nash and Geddoe.

"Quickly, come in," he hissed.

Hugo and the rest of the part walked into the room, and Hugo felt a rush of power that he had never felt before. There were more than just the three of them in there. There were other warriors.

"Nearly all the runes are reunited," Zerase said proudly.

"How can you say that?" Riou asked. "There are runes that have been lost with people's deaths."

"Runes are never lost. They return to the Leader of the Sindar. To the Rune of Change. I can feel the leader approaching the building at this very moment. The Runes have spoken."

And at that moment there was a knock at the door. Zerase opened it, and a woman dressed in barely anything walked into the room. All the warriors recognized her as Jeane.

"Greetings leader," Zerase spoke.

Jeane nodded.

"I am telling them of the future of all the Runes that have owners deceased," Zerase added.

"Ah yes," Jeane started. "I indeed am the Leader of the Sindar. And I also contain all the runes that seemed to have perished. The Beast Rune, the Sovereign Rune, the Gate Rune, and the other seven runes that have never been seen by this world."

At that moment, Hugo took the time to look at the other warriors in the room. There was a broad shouldered, chiseled young man with flowing white hair that was tied in a braid that went down to his waist. He had on his forehead a Rune marking, and on both his right and left hands, two other rune markings. _Did he have three runes?_ Hugo wondered to himself. He also saw a young woman who gave off a blue light of some sort. He recognized her face from the mask as well. It was Sierra Mikain. Nash had walked over to her, sat next to her, put his arm around her, and kissed her on the cheek. _So that was his wife_. Hugo thought to himself. He noticed another youthful looking man with a red bandana and gray hair that covered his forehead.

"Hugo, Chris, Sasarai, Louis, Geddoe, Edge meet the other True Rune Bearers," Zerase spoke.

"Hey, I'm Freyjadour, from Falena," the warrior with the long white hair said.

"Lazlo," the short grey-haired one said.

"Sierra," the girl spoke.

"Jowy," the other warrior replied.

"Riou," his companion next to him said.

And then Hugo's eyes were set upon an old friend.

"Futch!" Hugo cried.

Futch smiled and stood up, "That's right. Milia gave the Dragon Rune to me."

"Are these all the rune bearers?" Hugo asked.

"Nearly," Jeane replied. "Hikusaak also has a rune. Pesmerga has a rune. and Yuber has a rune. Leknaat also has a rune, but only half. I have the other half."

"So how do we go about doing this?" Hugo asked.

"Hikusaak has been preserved in the temple by the Circle Rune," Zerase started. "The Circle Rune in itself is one of the most powerful runes ever. The Circle itself represents life, rebirth, coninuity, alchemy, anarchy, wholeness, infinity, something unbroken."

"I myself do not even know the full extent of the danger the Circle Rune posesses," Jeane added.

"We need to move quickly though, right? The Harmonians know that we're here now," Hugo said.

"Calm down kiddo, I don't think you realize the caliber of the warriors in this room right now," Geddoe joked. "We're all legends here. We're the true Stars of Heaven."

"Indeed," Zerase added.

"Well then I feel downright out of place," Melville added.

"You should," Zerase spat.

"You should Not," Jeane contradicted. "Fate has brought you here for a reason. Your spirit is uncontrollable, dangerous, and exciting. It is for this reason, that you have been brought here. It is for this reason, the Sovereign Rune has chosen you."

Jeane opened her arms and closed her eyes, and from her forehead a white sparkle emerged and went to Melville's forehead. There was an intstant change. His posture was much different, his face was more strong and solelmn, and his eyes danced with power. It was a sight to see.

"So was Luc's death in vain?" Sasarai asked.

"Luc's vision was ultimately right. His method was wrong, but Luc was right. His intentions should be noted as good," Zerase said.

Freyjadour laughed, "You just pop up everywhere don't you Zerase?"

She looked at him coldly. "Just because you have the Sun Rune, Twilight rune, and Dawn Rune, doesn't make you any more special you little brat."

"What about us?" Nash said pointing to himself and Joker.

Jeane looked over at them as well.

"Nash, there will be a challenge for you waiting in that Temple. Your True Rune is waiting for you there," Jeane said. "And Joker, unfortunately, your business here is to be a witness. There is no rune for you, you must be your own person."

Joker looked almost sad, but was clearly excited to be in this position.

"We go tonight," Zerase said.

Hours later, after reminiscing wars and history amongst each other, and getting to know each other, and feeling the strength of so many runes, the entire party set out together. Hugo led the way, virtually lighting his body on fire to prove as a torch. The group came up to the temple of Hikusaak, determined for this final battle. Jowy used the Black Sword Rune to crack open the doors of the titanic temple. There waiting was a lone figure in a cape. Nash stepped forward.

"Is this my challenge, Jeane?" He asked. She nodded in consent.

Nash walked forward a few paces, and then he was completely sure. There stood Clive holding Sturm in his hands. He leveled the enormous gun at Nash and fired. Nash quickly was out of the way before he could pull the trigger though. Nash took out from the back of his belt his old weapon, the Grosser Flux. He swung the sword out and it extended like a chain whip. He had it hit the tip of Sturm so that barrel wouldn't face him. He took a quick step foward, and then from his waist pulled out a small blade and whipped it at Clive. Clive took the blade in the throat, but still aimed his gun at Nash.

"You are not getting to our leader," Clive said determined. "We are to protect him."

Clive kept Grosser Flux extended and whiped it toward Clive again, Clive fired but also missed again. When Nash got in real close, he took out a pistol and shot Clive square in the chest. Clive fell backward, dropping Sturm. Nash picked Sturm up, and then blasted Clive in the face with it.

He turned toward the group with Sturm in his right hand, and Grosser Flux in his left hand, a formidable looking opponent.

"Sturm let you kill its owner only because the Rune inside knew it was time to change owners. Sturm will never miss a shot when it wants to be your rune. It will help our cause in defeating Hikusaak."

The party continued on through the temple, until they finally got toward the end. It was Hikusaak's legendary chamber, with a lock charmed by the Cirlcle Rune so that nobody could ever enter it.

"Everybody, focus your powers on the lock, the power of the 24 runes should be enough to destroy it," Zerase commanded.

Everybody did as was told, and the lock shattered in a brilliant light. They opened the door, to come face to face with four figures inside. Hikussak, Leknaat, Albert Silverberg, and Yuber.

"Leknaat!" Zerase exclaimed.

"Albert!" Hugo cried.

Hikusaak stepped down from his throne. He looked nearly identical to Sasarai and Luc. He was a little taller, a little more bulked, a face more composed and weathered, with hair that was cut very close to his head.

"Excellent Leknaat," He muttered.

"The plan worked to a point," Albert smiled.

"Time to let the fun begin," Yuber snarled.

"Leknaat what is going on?" Zerase asked.

"Let me explain!" Hikusaak yelled as he walked toward the group. "You have just completed my quest. It worked so perfectly too. I am so lucky to have such a genius strategist. Of course there was no way that I was going to get all the True Runes on my own. After I realized that Albert Silverberg tactfully took advantage of one of my clones, led him into the grasslands to obtain True Runes, masterfully diverted the grasslanders to prevent casualties, and survive the whole battle only to advance his rank, I knew that I needed to get in contact with this man. He was alreayd knowledged about my ultimate plan from Luc, and indeed got the rank he wanted. So he advised me to have all the True Runes come to me instead of looking to get all the True Runes myself. He came in contact with various Sindar experts, Killey, Lorelia, Zweig, and found out that they knew more about the Sindar than I did. He collected information, studied history through the private Silverberg Library, went across the globe in the past three years collecting information, and finally came to the conclusion that all runes return to the Sindar leader. And by checking birth records, words of citizens, looking at wars in history, he came to the conclusion that Jeane was the most likely candidate to be the leader of the Sindar. So he went out and found his old friend Yuber, and had Yuber come in contact with Luc and Leknaat with his Rune. Leknaat of course had her own agenda, but it was one that coincided with mine. As the Gate Rune Keeper, it was her responsibility to look out for all the Runes. And that means, it was her responsibility to unite all the Runes again and prevent them from being destroyed. So Albert came up with the plan to have Leknaat visit all the True Rune bearers, and have them unite to come and fight me. In this room right now we have 26 of the True Runes. It was also Albert's idea to have Yuber stick around, because Pesmerga was bound to show up, which would make 27. Now, contrary to popular belief, Albert thought about the strength of the runes. And after talking with Leknaat, he deduced a new theory. That just because all the Runes were in the same vicinity of each other did not mean that they would all unite and the world would come to nothingness. He just deduced that nothing would actually happened until somebody destroyed all the Runes. And thanks to Luc, Albert had found out how to successfully destroy a True Rune. Albert brought this information to me, in hopes that I could control all 27 True Runes without destroying them. Which would mean Harmonia would be the most dangerous and unconquerable civilization, with no enemies, only servants. And in this way, I would still be leader, but the deal was made that he would be my second in command. And in fact, just as the Gate Rune was split, and the Rune of the Beginning was split, we found out how to split the Circle Rune. So I gave him a piece of it as collateral, to make sure I held up my end of the bargain. Ingenious, eh?"

Hugo and the rest of the Stars of Heaven stood there dumbfounded. And it was at that moment Pesmerga stepped out from the shadows.

"So that's how it is," He spoke gently.

Yuber glanced over at him with a great excitement.

"Albert also was the chief director in creating 26 new clones. Ones that had no brain and could not think for themselves. I already failed that when I created Luc and Sasarai," Hikusaak continued. "These will just be mindless hosts for my Runes."

Hikusaak lifted his hand in the air and in an instant, Leknaat fell to her knees. She glanced up at him.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

"Getting my 27 Runes," He sneered. "The Circle Rune is the controller of all life."

He flicked his wrist, and Leknaat collapsed. He took the Rune and dropped it into one of the pedastals that lined the room.

"These 27 pedastals will help hold the runes," he laughed.

He rose his hand again, and made the same motion, Geddoe collapsed.

"Geddoe!" Hugo yelled as he ran over to his companion.

He knelt down next to Geddoe. Geddoe tried to speak: "Hugo. Just remember where you came from. It was great to be with you while I could. I'm sorry I couldn't be with you when you were growing up."

"Enough talking!" Hikusaak yelled, snapped his wrist again, and Geddoe died. "He was never much of a father anyways."

And before anybody else could move, Hikusaak had everybody frozen with fear. Hugo could feel his rune boiling up inside of him, but the Circle Rune controlled his own Rune. He felt Chris hold his hand, and his anger cooled down.

"At least we're together," she whispered.

Hikusaak started the same motion with his hand, but all of a sudden there was a body on top of Hikusaak. It was young Melville.

"You son of a bitch!" Melville yelled pounding his fists on Hikusaak's head.

Yuber unsheated his swords and leapt at Melville, but in mid-air Pesmerga flew at him and knocked him down. The two started in an epic sword fight, swords clashing, teeth knarled, limbs deftly avoiding being cut. They battled across the room as Melville distracted Hikusaak. The Sovereign Rune rendered Melville immune to its effects.

Slowly, the party was lost from Hikusaak's spell and they all stood up.

And at that moment, it was as if a breath of life had come into the room. Two men walked in. One was dressed in a gold and purple robe with long black hair, the other had green and scarlet robes on with a short black beard.

"No!" Hikusaak yelled out. "Get out of here you two!"

Hugo looked at the two men.

"Mazus and Crowley at your service," The one with the short beard smirked. "Hikusaak, your plan is over! We have spent hundreds of years learning the ways of the runes and their magical abilities!"

Crowley, the one in purple and gold, walked over the Geddoe, placed his hand on Geddoe, and instantly revived him. He walked over to Leknaat and did the same. The echo of the swords of Pesmerga and Yuber echoed in the background, the battle between good and evil as strong as ever.

Mazus continued, "Your plan is finished. My master and I have finally figured out the truth behind the runes and their powers. We both have over one hundred runes on our bodies. We've mastered and overcome their temptations, and although not True Runes, they carry remnants of the True Runes in each and every one of them."

"You cannot take the True Runes," Crowley added. Melville was still on top of Hikusaak, holding him down with all his might, beating at his face occasionally. "If you destroy all the True Runes then the world will go back to the 'darkness' that it was before it shed a tear. And if you hold all the True Runes and do nothing with them, then there will be perfect balance, and the world will become the nothingness that Luc had envisioned.

"With the 27 True Runes gone, we wondered if the Earth would still remain. And after hundreds of years of fighting and experiementing with the normal runes and their powers, we now know that the world would in fact not end. The True Runes are merely the jewels of the broken Sword and Shield. Without the jewels, the Sword and Shield, Sky and Earth, will still remain."

And with that being said, Mazus and Crowley raised their arms up to the sky and everybody in the room fell to their knees in agony. Even Pesmerga and Yuber. Even Albert with his fraction of a Circle Rune. And from all of the bodies in there, the Runes came out of them as small sparkles. The two legendary magicians then brought all 27 sparkles into one conjoined light. In that light, all who looked in it would see the pasts of the Runes, and the people who had once controlled them. Crowley and Mazus then clapped their hands together, and the one sparkle mushroomed into the air, and a boom like thunder echoed throughout the room.

And it was done.

"There are no more runes in this world. No True Runes, no runes from the True Runes, nothing," Mazus said. "The Earth can now go on in eternal peace. The Sword and the Shield will forever be against each other, but never again will they ever disappear."

"And now that our life's duty has been fulfilled. We are finished. Our bodies were made up of 90 rune material after all our experimenting. And now that it is gone, we are finished," Crowley concluded.

He looked at Mazus, and in an instant their bodies collapsed to nothing but sand on the floor.

The group of heros all stood up and looked at each other in disbelief. Even Yuber and Pesmerga stopped fighting, there seemed to be no will to fight between them. The runes that had controlled them were gone.

Melville got up off of Hiksaak as well. And they were all speechless.

And as history went on, all these Rune Bearers felt the freedom of a mortal life. They understood more what death meant, and what life was about. The could now relate to Luc's dream of not living to see a lonely end, and they could understand the First Firebringer's motives for releasing his rune. It was a beautiful thing for all. Although it did seem like fate really had brought them all together, life was now much happier.

Freyjadour returned to Falena and abolished the rule of the Queendom. He founded not just a Kingdom, but a whole new government, where the people could choose the ruler. Without the Sun Rune, their whole land was changed.

Lazlo returned to the Island Nations, where the legend of Rune Cannons no longer bothered anybody. The islands had no more enemies, and they could live in peace from Armes.

Jowy and Riou left on their own adventure. They had said that Nanami was waiting for them at the most peaceful place on the Earth, and they were going to find her.

Tir McDohl went to find his friend and companion Gremio, who was also waiting on a country nobody knew where.

Sierra and Nash traveled the world together, happy that there were no more vampires, living a life of adventure and love. Nash was always heralded as one of the greatest warriors because he could wield the Sturm and the Grosser Flux, and even though he knew he could be an asset to any army, he decided to give up that life to dedicate it to something more meaningful: Love.

Jeane opened a fake rune shop where she would tell people the history of the world and all her experiences with it. And this is what she did until the day she died, and she was happy to do it every day.

Sasarai returned to Harmonia, where Hikusaak lived in utter shame. Hikusaak had fled the city in his embarassment of failure, and was never to be seen again. Albert Silverberg on the other hand, kept his position in Harmonia. Although his exact plan had not worked, his plan to secure a high rank in Harmonia sure did. Sasarai interogated the tactician, imprisoned him, mentally tortured him, until he was sure Albert was not going to be a problem. He assigned Albert as his right hand man in the new Harmonia that Sasarai was ruler of, and he made sure to appoint Caesar the same rank, so that the two brothers could equal each other with their good and bad qualities.

Futch returned to his homeland but it was never the same again. There were no longer any dragons because the rune was gone, but he found happiness when he decided to marry Sharon.

Leknaat was now a lost soul without her rune. She wandered the land looking for a purpose but found none, until one day, Zerase found it in herself to forgive Leknaat for her plans. Zerase and Leknaat traveled the world together, enjoying the things in life that they never thought humanly possible.

Edge was now just a normal warrior without his Zodiac Sword, but the Sword had posessed him with a new kind of excitement for a challenge. Edge now just used a normal broad sword, but went around the world slaying any obstacle that seemed to stand in his way. People would sing about his legend and tell stories about his adventures for many years.

Hugo and Chris were married and raised a wonderful family. Chris always remembered her father and his struggle, and Hugo could finally learn about his father's, Geddoe's, struggle. Thomas became the leader of the Grasslands, and eventually raised up with the help of his assistants, Louis, Melville, Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe, a strong and wonderful empire. Geddoe became one of the greatest Generals of all time, drawing parallels to Georg Prime, who even looked almost alike. He was a merciful general, and created one of the most united armies the world had ever seen. He was the survivor of two Fire Bringer Wars and one of the chosen ones to lead the people. Melville also lived a life of adventure, bragging to everybody about how he saved the world by bringing down Hikusaak. He grew up to be a cowboy of a sort, looking for quick excitement and fun. He gambled and drank and loved to have fun with the ladies, but he never once lost himself in these activities. He dedicated himself to become a better person whenever he could, so that he could live up to his reputation. And Louis became one of the greatest knights of all time. He was a masterful tactician. He became Geddoe's right hand man, and almost a second father to Chris' children. He was as sly as Percival, dedicated as Borus, agile and quick as Roland, as tough and big as Leo, as smart as Salome, and as inspiring as Chris. He had truly become the embodiment of the Six Knights of Zexen, and was a hero to all across the land.

In the end though, after all the True Runes were gone, good and bad still remained. It was the way of the world, but this time strength was achieved through hard work, and nobody feared inhuman power. It was a much different world. Good and evil always remained though. And just as neither good nor evil ever totally conquered one another, nobody really knows if Yuber and Pesmerga ever ended their duel. They continued to fight after the Final Battle at Harmonia, and people across the world would see them battling, running, and sparring through various towns across the globe. It did not look like malicious fighting anymore, just something out of pure habit. Everybody knew the two were intertwined, and that they were both equally strong.

Yuber and Pesmerga taught the world moral lessons though, about the constant fight for good and evil. And with these moral lessons, the people in the world never ever once in the future, forgot about the True Stars of Heaven who risked their lives to protect all those to come. And in the future of the world, each Hero was given their due respect in every way imaginable.


End file.
